Trump's latest stimulus move brilliantly flips the table on Pelosi, Democrats
Trump's EOs are a political stroke of genius as the November election approaches
President Donald Trump’s four new executive orders, announced Saturday in Bedminster, New Jersey, are a game-changer for the ongoing negotiations with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a win for the economy and millions of American workers.
As reported by Fox News, “Trump announced a $400-per-week supplemental unemployment payment to out-of-work Americans -- short of the $600 weekly benefit that expired at the end of July. He unveiled an extension of student loan relief and protections from evictions for renters and homeowners.
WHAT'S IN PRESIDENT TRUMP'S FOUR CORONAVIRUS RELIEF EXECUTIVE ORDERS?
Trump also issued a payroll tax holiday through the end of the year for Americans earning less than $100,000, while promising more relief if he wins a second term.”
It’s a political stroke of genius by the president as the November presidential election approaches.
Trump’s four executive actions do many of the things that the Democrats have been agitating for: it gets money to hard-working people via a suspension of the payroll tax. This means a 7.5% boost in take-home pay for every worker making $100,000 or less for the rest of the year. It is legal and popular with voters.
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Democrats insisted on an extension of unemployment benefits at $600 a week – which pays two-thirds of jobless Americans more money than they would be paid if they go back to work.
Now the Democrats’ world has been rocked, and when more negotiations begin in the weeks ahead, the president can negotiate from a commanding position.
Trump’s executive order gives workers $400 a week, which many economists, including myself, think is still a disincentive to work, but provides an immediate safety net for the 25 million Americans who are still unemployed.
Evictions from homes and apartments would also be suspended because of high unemployment rates.
I don’t like this policy because it has encouraged thousands of people to stop paying rent – even when they have the means to do so, and hurts landlords who make these dwellings available – but, again, this was a Democratic initiative that Trump has delivered.
Ditto for a student loan repayment deferral order Trump also signed on Saturday.
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Democrats, instead of thanking Trump for providing relief for millions of Americans during the ongoing pandemic, have responded indignantly.
In a joint statement Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., disparaged the Trump actions as "unworkable, weak, and narrow."
Just a week ago they had the White House cornered on stimulus talks, demanding that Trump spend as much as $3 trillion on new government programs (with the feds already running a deficit of close to $4 trillion), to get any economic recovery aid.
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Now the Democrats’ world has been rocked, and when more negotiations begin in the weeks ahead, the president can negotiate from a commanding position.
Both the White House and Pelosi want a $1,200 per person payment to individuals, and that can now be done as a stand-alone bill.
The nation’s businesses still need a liability shield for employers (so they don’t get sued through no fault of their own when workers randomly get sick). And families need the all-important school vouchers for parents who want alternative education choices if the public schools are not open in the fall.
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden called the Trump executive orders “half-baked,” in a statement on Saturday but he, too, now finds himself in a squeamish position.
Trump declared Saturday that it is his full intention to forgive the repayment of the payroll taxes next year via legislation.
He challenged the former vice president to announce the same intention.
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Well, what will it be, Joe?
Is his intention, if he is elected president, to force middle-class workers to make double payroll tax payments next year? By the way, Pelosi and Biden were very supportive of the payroll tax cut back in 2010 when President Obama signed a small reduction in the tax to help “working-class Americans.”
The big clash ahead is over aid to states, cities and school districts. Congressional Democrats want a blue state bailout for their states and cities. They want as much as $800 billion to flow mostly from red states to bankrupt states like California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.
Meanwhile, many red states and cities – including Utah, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska have already balanced their budgets.
Now Democrats want residents in red states to help bailout blue states that have spent themselves into multibillion-dollar holes. Trump should say no deal to that sham.
Meanwhile, Trump’s poll numbers and his odds in betting markets have risen steadily over the last week as he made known his intention to cut payroll taxes. Voters like that.
He is still behind Biden but the 2020 presidential race now appears highly competitive.
Trump’s move on Saturday was a game-changer, and now, as the saying goes: it's game on.
Stephen Moore is a senior economic analyst with Freedomworks. He is co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity and serves as a member of President Trump’s economic recovery task force.
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